Lost in, well, everything else that went wrong for the Atlanta Braves this season has been that they start the season off on the wrong foot after Reynaldo Lopez's shoulder surgery. After a very promising first season back in the rotation despite some minor injury stuff, Atlanta was relying on Lopez to help anchor their starting pitching staff. Once Lopez went down with the injury, it was one of the first dominos to fall that ended with the Braves being out of contention for a playoff spot for the first time since 2017.
In most circumstances like this where you have a guy like Lopez who clearly faded and was, at minimum, sore at the end the 2024 season after getting converted back to starting followed by needing shoulder surgery after one start, something would click. There is a reason, after all, why Lopez had been shifted to the bullpen to begin with and relying on his body to hold up to that workload given what we know seems extremely silly.
However, the Braves don't seem to agree with that assessment. In an interview with The Athletic's David O'Brien, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said the plan, at least for now, is to keep Lopez in the rotation while acknowledging that Lopez's ability to do both was a selling point for the Braves when they signed him.
Braves plan is to keep Reynaldo Lopez in the rotation is asking for trouble
Here is the thing. The problem with keeping Lopez in the rotation isn't an effectiveness question. If this were a situation where the Braves just wanted to see if he could be a quality starting pitching or not, that is more than a worthy gamble especially given how much money he is making.
The issue is that if Lopez gets hurt again, which seems very possible given his recent injury history, he isn't going to be able to pitch at all. This isn't a question of whether he is good enough, but instead whether or not his body will break down under an increased workload. After missing time late in 2024 and now nearly all of the 2025 season, there is growing evidence that Lopez just isn't built to start.
If the Braves just move Lopez to the bullpen in the wake of these injury issues, it gives Atlanta another high leverage relief option that can throw multiple innings if needed. Lopez might not be happy about that decision, but it has to be better than having him start for a while until a more serious injury hits and he can't pitch at all for even longer.